Are verses of the Bible unspeakable in houses of worship?

2007-11-03
By

As readers of this blog know, I’m an atheist but one of my current projects is to read the Bible cover to cover. It is an immensely enjoyable endeavor as many of the stories in this book – perhaps anthology of books is more accurate – have an extraordinary emotional power. The Bible contains much truly great literature. Since I am reading the King James Version, I am also reading a work of strikingly beautiful language.

However, I wonder if some of the language would render certain passages unspeakable in houses of worship. I am now reading First Samuel. First Samuel Chapter 25 verse 34 reads as follows: For in very deed, as the Lord God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thous hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.

It is interesting that, in this verse, the Bible distinguishes men from women by the ability of the former to stand up while urinating and shoot their yellow liquid forward.

Could First Samuel 25:34 be spoken out loud in a house of worship? If it was, would the word “pisseth” have to be censored out? Readers?

  • jw

    Well, the verse is Abigail trying to convince the King (David) to do something. I would think the whole point was to translate it as a person would really speak at the time of the KJV. The piss is not in most other translations.

    I doubt the verse would be read in most churches as her plea against Nabol would be mentioned when introducing David’s response.

  • DrDamage

    I doubt there would be much difficulty quoting this verse in any church I have attended, although the midmorning sunday services attended by young marrieds and their children might avoid it. More due to concerns about tittering children in the midst of a bible reading than from concerns about giving offense though.

  • http://www.shatterdmen.com/ shatteredmen

    Denise,

    As a pastor, I am not nearly as concerned about this verse or several other that include what we think of as cuss words not being read as I am some other ones.

    When the divorce rate is as high in conservative Christian churches as in the secular community, I can only assume no one is reading 2 Corinthians chapter 7 in church.

    As the director of a ministry for abused people with a focus on abused men, I assure you, no one is reading Proverbs 21:9, 21:19 and 25:24 either.

    When I see so called Christians churches such as Westboro Baptist Church doing the things they do, I know they do not read 1 Corinthians chapter 13 nor do they talk about…love your enemy and do good to those who abuse you.

    Denise, to be perfectly honest with you….I can “tolerate” those such as yourself who say they do not believe in GOD, or even those who outright are angry with HIM then I can these “Christians” that act “holier then thou” or those who will not get out of their comfort zone to tell someone that God does indeed love them because they are afraid someone may think they are weird. I am fed up with those who teach that once one becomes a Christian they will never have another problem because it just is not true. I have not been in a comfort zone since starting Shattered Men 8 years ago….and I do not plan on ever going back to a comfort zone.

    Pastor Ken Deemer
    Director Shattered Men

  • The Vicar

    No Denise, just in court, in school or in public in general.

    Someone might be “offended.”

  • sstratford

    I grew up in churches that used the KJV of the Bible, and to be honest, I never heard that verse read in church. However, in our home, we read the Bible daily and I read the Bible through many times when I was younger, so I obviously knew that verse was there. But since I took into consideration the fact that in the time that verse was translated, that word was perfectly “respectable” (I’m assuming anyway, since I wasn’t there at the time), it was nothing to be offended at. I did get a giggle out of it though, especially as a teenager.

  • amfortas

    Between Protestants and PC, there is barely any passage of the Bible that can be spoken in the early form. Crikey, even ‘Father’ has been excised. Mind you, ‘Father’ is likely to cause greater niptions than pisseth.


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